Water ski binding



1943- D. B. HAINS Q 2,327,783

WATER SKI BINDING Filed Jan. '7, 1941 DAN/EL 5. HA m/s Patented Aug. 24,1943 UNITED ST wa'rizn SKI BINDING Daniel B. Hains, Bayville, N. Y.,

to Winner Manufacturing Company,

assignor Inc,

Trenton, N. 31., a corporation of New Jersey Application January 7,1941, Serial No. 373,513

Claims.

This invention relates toan improvement in water skis and, moreparticularly, to a skibinding for supporting and retaining the foot ofthe wearer.

An object of the invention is to provide a sturdy foot binding for waterskis which is adjustable for various size feet.

Another object of the invention is to construct a foot supportingbinding for water skis which will comfortably support the forwardportion of the foot in a resilient vamp or forepart and embrace the heelportion by a counter. and counter portions are discontinuous with thecounter movable or adjustable with relation to the vamp.

A stil1 further object of the invention i the The vamp construction of aski bindin that will be securely attached to the upper surface of theski and,

while snugly supporting the forward and heel portion of the users foot,will permit the instantaneous removal of the foot therefrom.

Another salient feature of the present invention is the construction ofthe counter in a manner which will snugly support the heel withoutbinding or pressing on the Achilles tendon.

In the drawing,

Fig. l is a perspective of the improved ski binding shown supporting thewearers foot;

Fig. 2 is a top plane view of the binding mounted on a portion of awater ski showing the'manner of attaching the vamp and counter to theski;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation illustratin the relation of the vamp to thecounter and the adjustment means for the counter.

Specifically, numeral 1 denotes a water ski of any desired size orconfiguration. As it will be understood, the binding hereinafterdescribed is applicable to any style of water ski. The forepart of thebinding comprises a vamp 2 composed of flexible material, such asleather, rubber, or treated textile. The side and front section of theVamp is rigidly attached to the ski by means of a U-shaped metalclamping strip 3 and a plurality of spaced screws i. The inner edge ofthe vamp is fashioned in such a manner as to have an integral upstandingtongue 5 and in use the tongue fits snugly against the upper part of theinsteps adjacent the ankle, as shown in Fig. 1.

The adjustable counter I6 is also formed of flexible material with itsrear and side edges riveted to a U-shaped metal clamping strip II. Therivets l2 bind the outwardly flared edge of the counter ll) between thestrip I l and the bottom plate l2. The plate I2 is provided withonpositely disposed elongated openings l3 for the reception of bolts 14carrying wing nuts l5. The bolts l4 extend through the plane of the skiI and, if desired, may be countersunk in the lower surface thereof.Washers 16 are preferably placed to underlie the wing nuts [5 and bindagainst the sides of the openings l3 when the nuts are tightened up.

It will be obvious that after the user has inserted his foot in the vampand positioned the tongue thereof against the upper part of his foot,the counter it] may be moved forward to snugly engage his heel andthereafter the adjusting nuts l5 tightened to snugly hold the foot inposition. One of the features of the present invention is the notchingof the upper edge of the counter ill at H to permit the forward sideparts l8 to firmly press against the sides of the foot and encompass theAchilles tendon within the cutout portion N. This construction removesall detrimental binding or pressure of the sensitive Achilles tendon bythe counter which would be painful and harmful to the user.

In use when the wearer desires or must remove his foot quickly from thebinding as when he topples over in the water, the resilienc of the vampcounter permits instant removal of the foot. In normal use, however, thefoot is snugly and comfortably supported and gives ample securitywithout the danger of not being able to easily kick the ski off andwithout discomfort of pressure against the Achilles tendon.

One of the salient features of this invention is the fact that with thisimproved binding the wearers foot is subjected to an even pressure allover and this gives complete control of the ski so that the wearer foot,ski binding, and ski, are in effect an integral structure.

What I claim is:

l. A water ski binding comprising a flexible resilient vamp portionhaving its front and side edges rigidly secured to a water ski and aflexible resilient counter portion having its rear and side edgesrigidly secured to a plate, elongated slots formed in either side ofsaid plate, spaced bolts aflixed in said water ski and extendingupwardly through said slots and nuts on said bolts whereby said platemay be rigidly bound against said water ski.

2. A water ski comprising a flat horizontal ski surface and a footbinding thereon, said binding comprising a resilient sheet fastenedaround its front and sides to said ski surface, the rear edge thereofextending beyond the side portions and adapted to engage the top of theusers foot, and a heel engaging portion adjustably secured to the skisurface adjacent the forward foot engaging portion, the heel portionconsisting of an upstanding, substantially semi-circular resilientsheet.

3. A water ski binding comprising a flexible vamp having an integralupstanding tongue over the upper part of the instep adjacent the ankle,a cup-shaped counter for encompassing the heel of the foot, said counterportion being provided with a recess forming end flanges so that theheel will fit back into the cup-shaped counter and the flanges will gripover the ankle bone, said tongue and counter flanges being substantiallyin the same horizontal plane. d

4. A water ski binding comprisinga flexible vamp for encompassing theforepart of the foot,

an integral upstanding tongue over the upper part of the instep adjacentthe ankle, a plate, a flexible counter for encompassing the heel of thefoot mounted on said plate,- said plate being provided with slotstransverse its width on both sides of the counter for the reception ofbolts whereby longitudinal adjustment of the counter is provided.

5. Ii -combination with a water ski a ski binding comprising a flexiblevamp for encompassing the forepart of the foot, a U-shaped rigid stripadapted to fit over the ends of the vamp and fasten it to the ski, aplate, a flexible counter mounted on said plate for encompassing theheel of the foot, said plate being adjustably mounted ont ki- DANIEL B.I-IAINS.

